What Objections Are Proper in a Deposition?

Deposition arguing is never good

Many attorneys continue to be perplexed over what objections are "proper" when defending a deposition. Well Susan Minsberg gave a terrific answer at Lawyerist.com. Turns out that there are only 5 proper objections and those proper objections may be different than what you and I thought.

Her blog on it is located here Proper Deposition Objections. It's a good refresher reading.

Ron Burdge

www.TheLawCoach.com

Helping Lawyers Win Cases Since 1978

112 Best Business Books Collection

Internet Marketing Expert Andrew Lock

There are few marketing people who know Marketing, and Internet Marketing in particular, as well as Andrew Lock. He's been at it for years, helping businesses and entrepreneurs understand how to reach people with their products and ideas.

A sought after speaker who pratically invented the video podcast business (with a title like "Help, my business sucks" how could he lose?), for several years we have talked about his amazing and remarkable knowledge of the marketing process and his incredible grasp of using the internet (and much more) for marketing.

Want to know how he got so smart? Well, maybe it had something to do with his personal library of the very best business books written by the very best people.

If you also read business books, like us, and just don't have the time to see what's new unless you are walking through an airport - here's your chance to get a peek inside his library. Heck, you can walk away with 112 of his best books if you want.


Andrew Lock's 112 Best Business Books Up For eBay Bids

Andrew has boxed up 112 of the best business books he has ever read and put them on eBay. They just went up and for about a dime a book, you can get the best business books written by the best business minds in the country. The current bid is less than $12 (as of Nov 21, 2012) and there are 6 days before the sale closes.

We've got some of these books and have read others in his collection but certainly not all of them. We highly recommend bidding on the Andrew Lock Business Books Collection. And if you get them, you'll have lots to read every time you get on a plane - and you won't have to stop in the bookstore and pay publisher prices to do it.

Ronald L Burdge

www.TheLawCoach.com

Helping Lawyers Run Their Business for Over 30 Years

Is Big Money Buying Votes Today?

With so much "new" money being thrown at the election this year, one thing is very clear.

This will be the year when we all learn whether or not the 1% can buy an election with their money. Whether it is true that if you say it often enough and loud enough, people will believe it - whatever "it" may be.

Or, if the people who vote are smart enough, and tenacious enough, to ignore all the negative advertising and just figure out on their own who the best person is for the job of helping them live their lives every day and fulfill their dreams for their families tomorrow.

In one country we know of, by law all the advertising stops two weeks before the election. All the rhetoric dies down. Calmness tries to return. Rational thinking has a chance to take over.

Given the literally hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that the "superpacs" have thrown behind the politicians they want us to elect for ourselves, but really just to help them out, shutting off the advertising machine is not that bad an idea. Calm, rational thinking sanity would have a chance to return.

No one can be sure what this election cycle will prove. Not today. Not in the near future either. But one thing is for sure. Only a politician can say that corporations are people. They are not. They are a legalistic imaginary creation. They are not a bad thing. They are not a good thing. They are just a thing.

Legalistic imaginary Things should not be able to buy our vote. We hope they don't buy your vote today.

Ronald L Burdge

www.TheLawCoach.com

Helping Attorneys Help Clients, for More Than 25 years

Things a Lawyer Can and Can't Do

Ethical Things That Lawyers Can and Can't Do

Practicing Law "101" - the rules still are getting ignored. And not always by younger, inexperienced lawyers.

There are some new cases from the Ohio Supreme Court that came out today, dealing with failures to comply with ethical obligations by Ohio attorneys and they serve as a reminder to all attorneys, in and outside of Ohio. Since the same old things happen, it might be good to take a few hints from these recent suspensions.

Attorney Fee Agreements. While most states still do not require a written fee agreement in an hourly rate case, that isn't the case with a contingency fee case. Regardless of that, though, why take a chance on a misunderstanding? Last time we heard, most grievances occur for two reasons - lack of regular client communications and fee disputes. Put it in writing may not be the rule but it is the smart thing to do. 2012-Ohio-5012 (failing to use a written contingency fee agreement; failing to register for electronic filing with Court where case is pending).

Continuing Legal Education. This is a no-brainer - and you would think that it takes brains to get through law school and pass the bar exam, so this should never be a problem. But it continues to result in hundreds of suspensions every year across the country. You have to comply with your state's continuing legal education requirements. No if's. No but's. No way around it. 2012-Ohio-5004 (failing to maintain continuing legal education requirements).

Giving Legal Advice While Suspended. Another no-brainer. It is hard to understand how this one can happen by any intelligent person, let alone a lawyer, but apparently it can. 2012-Ohio-5004 (giving legal advice while suspended).

Failure to Cooperate. If you get a letter from the Bar Grievance Committee, ignore it at your own peril. Merely failing to cooperate with an investigation is, all by itself, grounds for disbarment or suspension. 2012-Ohio-5004 (failing to cooperate with investigation).

Trust Account Screw-ups. Okay, so you have a Trust Account. Now use it. And use it right. Don't just throw all the cost deposits and settlement money in and figure it out later. And messing with it? You think the bank doesn't have records? If the Bar investigator doesn't get a straight answer from you, it doesn't take much to get the bank records and figure it all out - without much any help from you at all. Keep precise and accurate Trust Account books. Balance them regularly. Know how much each client has in the Trust Account. Oh, and keep your own money out of it. 2012-Ohio-5014 (failing to reconcile Trust Account monthly; failing to maintain individual client records of Trust Account funds).

Practicing law can be fun (and profitable too), but not if you spend your time dealing with ethics complaints too.

Ronald L Burdge

www.TheLawCoach.com

Helping Lawyers do Their Best, for Over 30 Years

Kentucky - the Only Bar Assn to Offer Free CLE

We belong to the State Bar Associations in both Kentucky and Ohio, along with a number of local bar associations. Kentucky, however, is unique in what it gives back to its members.

In a time of tightening budgets, Kentucky's judicial centers have suffered the same budget cuts as other states, if not worse. 282 employees statewide were cut, $25.2 million cut from the Judicial Branch funding, and repeated trimming. They even imposed three furlough days during 2012 when all non-elected court personnel stayed home and offices closed.

But the state Bar Association continues to do the one thing they have done for years for their members. Free CLE.

It's All the CLE You Need and it's Free.

Like other states, Kentucky has a mandatory continuing legal education requirement - but with a difference. They also give an annual Fall program that meets the CLE requirements for free to KBA members, the Kentucky Law Update. It is a remarkable member benefit in these continuing tight times for the legal profession.

The program goes back to 1984 and is presented annual in various cities across the state so it is convenience for all bar members. It is designed to be of value and use to all members, regardless of their years in practice. It is a terrific member benefit.

You may think that membership dues for KBA must be a lot higher than other states, right? Wrong. It is actually just a few dollars apart from our Ohio State Bar Association membership dues ($305 in Ohio, $310 in Kentucky) - where there is no free CLE for members. So five bucks gets you all the CLE you need, including ethics. That's a bargain.

It seems obvious but also seems to be ignored - the fact that CLE programs are often presented by association members who get paid nothing for their effort (although they do get "bonus" teaching CLE credits), so why doesn't EVERY state and local bar association do what Kentucky does? You'll have to ask your state and local bar associations that question.

This is one area of a lawyer's life where Kentucky does it better than the other 49 states, without a doubt. But for those of us who are also Kentucky lawyers, we just smile.

Ron Burdge

www.TheLawCoach.com

Helping Lawyers Help People, Everyday

Getting the Judge to Yes, Part 1

A happy judge is a friendly judge

We all know that if your judge understands the merits of your case, it not only makes the legal process easier for you and your client, but it can be a tremendous boost to more quickly getting a fair settlement too. Here's part one of the discussion.

When it comes to getting a trial judge to say and do the things that help you press opposing counsel to settle with you though, the judge may not start out believing in the merits of your side of the case and he/she may never get there without your help. The time for you to start that process is not when you are first standing in front of the judge.

If they don't understand the reasoning behind the law or at least emotionally sympathize with your case or your client, you'll have a tough time from start to finish. While you may think that appellate judges may be smarter about the Law in some respects, and that may help you post-verdict, the simple truth is that a settlement sooner had means settlement money of more immediate use - and that can be valuable to both you and your client. It also makes your life easier.

Getting the judge on your side starts first with drafting the Complaint in a way that is reader-friendly and rouses emotional appeal of the reader, be it the judge, a clerk, or a local reporter cruising through the clerk's office that day just looking for something to write about. Remember, the Complaint is the one document in a case file that many judges will actually read, sometimes before an Answer is even filed (besides, the Answer hardly ever really says anything meaningful or detailed anyway).

You might as well make your Complaint interesting and take advantage of the opportunity to educate and entertain. Your goal is to make the reader finish reading it and say to themselves "what the defendant did here is just wrong." 

Law is Generally Rooted in Morality

Notice that I did not say that you want the reader to say something like "the defendant violated Revised Code number so and so." That's because all laws are fundamentally based on morality and if morality isn't on your side, the law probably isn't going to do you much good in the long run. So put enough well-worded info right up front to give basic facts in a readable way that shows your client was wronged.

Notice that I said both info and facts. The facts tell the story of what happened but it is the info that explains why what happened is also a moral wrong. You need both of them to tell a persuasive story of wrongful conduct. 

The first few paragraphs of your Complaint is not the time to lead the horse to water and then cross your fingers and hope that they will figure it out. Be blunt. Be complete.

One of the best opening paragraphs I ever read in a Complaint sounded like the opening few minutes of a 60 minutes story or one of those (real) news magazine shows like 20-20 or something, using plain ordinary words that casually led me to the writer's reality. I grabbed my attention from the start and at the end of it, I knew who was right and who was wrong.

There's an old newspaper rule that can help you and it says that the first paragraph of any story should tell the reader who, what, when, where, why, and how.  That can help you cover the bases but it shouldn't be your goal and you may not want to always include the 5 w's in paragraph one.

With that in mind though, the first paragraph of your Complaint should grab the reader and explain the basic thrust of your case in an emotional way that cries out for justice. Avoid reciting the law, legal citations, and legalese in the first few paragraphs - there's plenty of time for that later. And forget about the elements of a cause of action when you write those first paragraphs - that has nothing to do with it. Think of it as you would your closing argument or opening statement. You want to tell your story and say it in a way that makes them agree with you and your side of the case - very, very quickly and very, very strongly.

That's why we think the opening paragraph should focus on the moral and emotional aspect of the facts at hand and do it in a way that makes the judge decide right away that if what you say is true then you should win the case. We all know that judges can find the law (or the reason) to let you win if they want to do so - you just have to make them want to do so.

An angry judge is not good for you

The place to get the judge on your side is at the start of the case. Mostly because getting raked over the judicial coals later on, well, that is no fun at all. 

During the pretrial and conferences later on, you can talk all you want about statutes and social goals, legislative intent, etc, but at the end of the day you have to have the judge on your side or your life in the courtroom can get very, very difficult for you and for your client. 

And it all starts at the beginning - before you ever enter the courtroom. 

Come back soon for tips on what to do if your case is already going on - more to come.

Ronald L Burdge
www.TheLawCoach.com
Helping Lawyers Win Cases, for Over 30 Years